David Matthews is a lecturer and course director for the undergraduate program in Health and Social Care at Bangor University, Wales. His writings focus on welfare, the welfare state, and welfare-related social policy issues such as health, mental health, housing, and disability. Growing up in a working-class family who relied upon the welfare system as both a means of support and to provide opportunities, David is acutely aware of the necessity of welfare to improve people’s lives, and the need to develop a system that meets the real needs of working people. David’s new book, The Class Struggle and Welfare: Social Policy under Capitalism, is forthcoming from Monthly Review Press early in 2025.
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Welfare for a Humane Future
Welfare for a Humane Future by David Matthews and Howard Waitzkin critiques the capitalist welfare state, emphasizing its role in sustaining racial capitalism’s exploitative structures. The authors argue that welfare under capitalism reinforces racial and class divisions, as seen in historical policies like the New Deal, which excluded Black workers. They envision a post-capitalist welfare system rooted in communal values—love, solidarity, and participatory democracy—drawing inspiration from global examples like Rojava’s democratic confederalism, Venezuela’s communes, and Cooperation Jackson’s solidarity economy. Key components include cooperative housing, community-controlled healthcare, and universal basic income, all managed through local assemblies. The book highlights mutual aid and grassroots organizing as pathways to transformative change, urging readers to build alternative institutions within capitalist societies. By prioritizing collective well-being over profit, the authors advocate for a welfare system that empowers communities and fosters equity.
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